March 23, 1997Final round of World Cup qualifying
Fans behave, but despite scoring twice -- Eric Wynalda in the first half, Roy Lassiter's equalizer in the second half -- the Ticos get a late goal from Ronald Gomez for a 3-2 victory.

July 23, 2000Semifinal round of World Cup qualifying
Greg Berhalter is called for a controversial handball in stoppage time as the Ticos pull out a 2-1 victory. Coach Bruce Arena tells Jamaican referee Peter Prendergast that "he cheated us." Claudio Reyna throws his captain's armband toward the ref. FIFA suspends both Arena and Reyna.

Sept. 5, 2001Final round of World Cup qualifying
The Americans are outclassed on a rainy night, losing 2-0 to jeopardize their once-firm World Cup hopes.

Oct. 8, 2005Final round of World Cup qualifying
The Americans have already secured a ticket to Germany '06. Nonetheless, a 3-0 loss to the Ticos continues their Saprissa misery.

I say it will be a 1-1 draw; the home side strikes first, but USA ties it in the second half and then withstands a 20-minute fusillade of shots on goal (and, hopefully, no batteries or bags of urine) to tally the point and get outta town.

SG - I'll join the chorus of desk jockeys who populate Insider Nation in saying Muchas Gracias for the travelogue from Costa Rica over the past few days.

We're due. This team has shown a toughness and resiliency, and I think Heydude will give them a "win one for the Gipper" style speech before the match to lift us to victory, amidst the projectiles and one-finger salutes.

It made me proud to read about Reyna's throwing the captain's armband at the ref way back when. I had forgotten about that incident and much of my memory of Reyna is clouded by WC '06 and his last couple of injury-prone years in MLS.

It's good to remember his passion and our players' love for the game and the stars and stripes, even when most of them don't sing the National Anthem.

Steve - thanks for the travelogue. I admire your ability to stay focused on your Post work while down there!

Being that we are the power of CONCACAF I would like to say that we will win, however our 2-2 tie with El Salvador keeps me from being that blunt. Hopefully we come out and take the game by the throat instead of the usual scared Bradley tactics I've grown to loath from our away matches.

As much as I want to post a homer pick, everything is going against the US.

Bad field, hostile atmosphere, average to poor playing ability on the road in CONCACAF for the US.

How anyone can predict a US victory is beyond me. I want them to win as much as the next person, but I just don't they have enough to overcome a lot of obstacles. I have no doubt in my mind that the US is much better team. The US wins this match on neutral ground and in the US, but not at Sapprisa. If the US gets a draw that would be a MAJOR accomplishment.

I think we'll lose but that way I will feel great if we do anything better and I can securely call myself a realist if we don't!

The game is somewhat more important for Costa Rica, as the home team, than it is for us. Mexico will probably start moving up the table in the next few days as they face the least likely WC candidates in El Salvador and at home vs T&T. The key thing for any of the likeliest contenders (USA, CR, Honduras & Mexico) is stay above 4th place and a playoff with a South American team,

Oddly, 2 points from ties in the next 2 games might benefit the US more than 3 points (which we would earn from a win and a loss) since ties would deny some points to Costa Rica and Honduras.

Why's everyone giving in on the board!?! If United can tie @ Saprissa with 10 men, I think the U.S. can do at least that . . it's all about adjusting to the turf and crowd. Between an in form Howard and Donovan, plus the skill of Torres, etc, we should be fine.

We'll look to counter, likely, but if we adjust and manage the turf and speed of the ball early, we should win.

Our team must be used to "hostile environments" by now. (e.g. Beasley playing in the Old Firm, Torres playing in Mexico, Donovan and other regulars in USA-Mexico and WC matches plus the ones playing in competitive European games) We've gotta play to win. USA wins 2-1